Month: March 2024

Installing/upgrading/fixing pumps and level-detectors, so she’ll be safe once back in water in two days.

We have two very good and very nice Harbourmasters helping us out. Newbies as we are, and – to top it off – in an old wooden cruiser from ’53, we’re sure they are thinking, ‘What the heck…?’ But they do keep up appearances, and they go beyond what you (i.e., someone from Copenhagen) would expect. They see solutions and offer a helping hand where the previous harbour-master/staff (closer to Copenhagen) just saw ‘annoying boat-owners’ who don’t fit in with their old non-plastic boat.

For example, we can stay the night hanging in the crane, so that we are safe – should she take in too much water in the first couple of hours… This makes the Captain quite comfortable, knowing we’ll be safe.

And word of mouth from these two great guys led us to another great guy. So now we have a shining new propeller, with new threads on the axle and whatnot… Going out of his way, not only to produce absolute quality work, but also to get us the bits and pieces we need to fix a serious problem with the hull.

The Captain has an inherent need to know all the ins and outs of the boat. How else can he ensure safe passage for his loved ones? And how else would he know what to do in case of emergencies?

So, it has to be ugly before beauty emerges. The short-term focus is on getting the hull fully exposed inside so that we can assess the extent of water ingress, which is normal in old wooden boats.

Once we are back in the water, the refurbishment will commence. Step one is all electronics/wirering which is really a mess right now…

We have a plan to make the boat our seaborne “mobile home” – so we will surely alienate some of the people from the diehard old ship’s league – but so be it.

We are in it for ourselves… nobody else.

The propeller needs a little TLC, so the rudder needs to come off.

Planning, however, is everything. Il Capitano spent a few hours bouncing ideas and challenges with his advisor “Jørn”. Always time well spent.

There’s such a thing as Fender Socks. Obviously we need those in matching colours. Home-made. But of course.